Evening on the Last Day of Obon in “March Comes in Like a Lion”

The scene in which Hinata (Kaya Kiyohara) cries in front of Rei (Ryunosuke Kamiki) in the movie “March Comes in Like a Lion” (2017) was filmed at Tsukuda Bridge Sumida River Terrace in Chuo Ward. ‘This is an important scene in which Rei empathizes with Hinata who is brimming with emotions while reminiscing about her mother on the last day on Obon. In order to truly connect the flow of emotions of the two characters, I believe I picked the perfect spot from which I could film Hinata and Rei running until they came to a stop by the river in one continuous shot. Moreover, in the story, this location is near the residence of the Kawamoto family in Tsukishima. The shitamachi atmosphere that is important throughout the movie still thoroughly permeates the area. While walking around the area, moored fishing boats as well as tsukudani shops and candy stores can still be seen here and there. I can almost perceive the presence of the Kawamoto family in these settings. At the same time, I can feel the ambience of Tokyo’s shitamachi. It was great that parts of the area were under construction during the shooting. In filming different locations in the movie “March Comes in Like a Lion,” my goal was to depict a realistic look of the city because it is currently undergoing great changes in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I could feel that the daily life activities of the whole town were in sync with the young couple. This is what I aimed to capture in the scenes.’
{Keishi Ohtomo, director of “March Comes in Like a Lion”}